Russia urges Turkey to help stop militant raids in Syria

The drones that attacked Hmeimim air base earlier this month flew out of the area in the southwest of the de-escalation zone Idlib controlled by the so-called "moderate" militant, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, the official publication of the Russian Defense Ministry, said on Wednesday.

The ministry reported earlier this month that 13 drones had been used in attempted attacks on two Russian military facilities in Syria on January 6. Ten of them targeted the Hmeimim air base and three were sent toward the Tartus naval base.

"According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it was established that the launch of the drones was carried out from the area of the Muazar settlement located in the southwestern part of Idlib de-escalation zone controlled by the armed formations of the so-called 'moderate' opposition," the statement said.

It is noted that in connection with this incident, the Russian Defense Ministry had sent letters to the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and Head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Hakan Fidan.

"The documents indicate the need for Ankara to fulfil its obligations to ensure compliance with the ceasefire regime by the armed formations under its control and to step up work on the installation of observation posts in Idlib de-escalation zone in order to prevent such attacks by UAVs against any objects," the statement added.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the country’s forces had taken control over six out of 13 drones, involved in the January 6 attempted attack in Syria. Thus, three UAVs were landed by the Russian forces in a controlled area, three other drones detonated after the collision with the ground, and seven other UAVs were destroyed by the Russian Pantsir-S air defence systems. Subsequently, the Pentagon said that the devices and technologies used for the drone attack "easily accessible on the open market."